Tales of Revenants

Chapter 53 – Umbral Light

The sword engulfed by the flames of hatred gradually corrupted Laken's right arm burning from the desire of saving his comrade from falling into the eternal darkness.

Laken reaches out for Alice and asked her, “No matter what kind of sealing magic or what, you need to encapsulate us all or else every celestial in the proximity will meet their demise!”

“I-I will!” Alice responded and began chanting ancient language, “A star of great defiance, I seek the answer and you left the mystery, bring forth the protection of heaven: Taurus' Might!” she spins her wand above her and invoked her spell.

The dazzling light appeared in four directions, enveloping anything in its path until an enormous barrier encompassed the vicinity up to the sky-high where Xenon and Sheria are flying.

Celestials who are caught inside are rejected and Alice transported them outside the barrier so they won't be caught in the blood bath on the battlefield.

“I can't battle when I'm holding the barrier out, I leave things to you two, Laken and Luciella!” She was holding the wand as if heavier than heaven itself. The barrier's structure is the same as the enormous ones that protect the celestials' lifestyle.

Alice must be doing her best to give them the highest and strongest shield she can invoke.

She knows she's not alone anymore by leaning onto others a little bit. That is the feeling she tried to forget once she knew how short the lives of her dear friends when she's adventuring in the past.

“We shall settle this before it's too late.” Laken followed Xenon who is holding Eirisse.

The fiend Xenon became is chasing Sheria who devoured the cores and the Shard of Energy.

“Why?! Why there's no power surging within me?! The abyss promised me the ultimate power the world can offer, so why?!” Sheria was exclaiming non-stop in disappointment to herself.

Laken knew all along there's no way Sheria can manifest the perpetual power of the shard no matter what kind of methodology they have just like how Duke Deriar was manipulated.

He believed that someone is pulling the strings behind everything that is happening.

However, in the midst of Sheria's realization that she was fooled all along, she caught the voice that deceived her again.

Luciella's eyes widened when she also overheard the voice of the abyss that's drawing Sheria's red string of fate.

“Wretched alloys... you are no more than a tool... a tool to awaken the Revenant...” after Luciella heard the unknown call, Sheria laughed hysterically as if she lost all hope that is left.

Luciella was disturbed by the fact someone is playing with her feelings. She suspects it was Alisa but the voice is not the same with her.

The king that Alice was talking about in the camp must be him. Luciella was overridden by an extreme desire to free Sheria from the yokes of suffering.

The sword Laken grasp was proof of living. He takes a stance and gradually enveloping his arm up to his shoulder with pure azure flames, “Through the star's wishes no prayers, bring forth the flames of the skies: Heaven's Fall!”

He swings his blade and the burning fire his blade produces created a projectile to directly hit Xenon's back.

However, even his aerial attack was rendered useless when Xenon received Laken's smite and nothing happens.

The thick mist of darkness and the corrupted armor infused with alloys is protecting his entire being.

“What can we do?!” Laken was on the brink of despair. He can't even save his comrades in the face of an ordeal.

Xenon approached Sheria who lost her mind. He strangled her by grasping her neck and pushing her right into the barrier's edge.

The darkness reign supreme, Xenon is going to open his mouth which is what Laken fears the most.

All those who hear the voice of the soundless will be filled by the despair they discarded.

Laken thinks it was the peak of his limit. He removed the silver choker on his neck and let the curse of the wrath takes over; for the friend who he considers dear, for everyone that is contradicting the fate they were given or accepted.

But when he lets the azure flames engulfed his entire being, he once again heard the voice of his dear friend who regretted his decision by letting his emotion takes over the better of him.

“I... am... sorry...” Xenon spoke with the last seconds of control over his body.

He asked forgiveness because Sheria suffered out of Xenon's ignorance of the past mistake he did.

Sheria's emotions were twisted that she doesn't know how to react anymore. She can't blame anyone except herself for falling into depravity.

Before Xenon loses control of his entire being, a warm blinding light enveloped the entire barrier's vicinity.

Later the exact same light was enveloped by the twilight, gradually becoming darker than Xenon's shadow.

The umbral light is coming from Luciella's pocket. Laken witnessed its eccentric radiance.

Alice can't believe it contains an extreme amount of umbra surpasses that of a dark star looming alone in the cosmos.

Not only Luciella heard the voice, but everyone inside the barrier heard the profound call of perpetual power.

She picks up the Shard of Shadow in his pocket, there's no telling what could happen, but Luciella held her emotions in, “Show me your desire, tell me your prayer...” the shard speaks for her.

“Is this the process of Magus Incarnation...?” Alice presumes.

Laken witnessed the incarnation for the second time but it still astonished him no matter how he observes the shard giving Luciella the power she desired.

Luciella discerns the voice was different when she used the Shard of Cosmos, but that doesn't matter anymore as the lives of everyone is at stake.

“I pray for the power to protect my comrades!” Luciella shouted her prayer at the top of her lungs.

The flux of infinite umbral power flowed within Luciella surrounding her entire body down to her soul.

Unlike her previous Magus Incarnation with the Shard of Cosmos, this time was different as her garments changed to a dress that had the embroidery of the moon.

The frills were colored night blue, her shoes changed into an obsidian glass befitting for the princess of the twilight.

With the tip of her wand was the Shard of Shadow itself. The umbral light it brings was so strong that Alice wouldn't hope to even surpass the fraction of its power.

Laken tried to approach her but with her eyes filled the shadow the shard brought; he knew she's not the one controlling her material form.

Luciella spins her wand and began chanting her magic, “Thunder Enchant!” she imbued her wand with the pure thunder turning it into black lightning.

She figures that was not enough as she chants her spell again, “Fireball!” at the tip of her wand, she conjures a dark fire enchanted with the black lightning, Luciella invoked her spell charging the projectile directly at Xenon.

Xenon quickly eluded and he dropped Sheria who became unconscious though she's still holding Eirisse.

Luciella make amends by quickly dashing from the roof of the houses, and thankfully she caught her before taking a solid landing.

Xenon thinks that was the end when he noticed Luciella's simple Fireball spell ricocheted in the barrier's wall directly hitting his posterior armor.

The impact is so strong he was forced to shield Eirisse instead to contain the collision. At least even if the darkness takes over, his mechanical body recognizes who should it protect.

Luciella gathers force downward and takes a leap. She freely levitated in the air to reach Xenon.

The moment Luciella grabbed his leg, she takes Eirisse from his arms and forcibly hurled Xenon in the ground.

It was as if she mimicked Xenon's skill when he did sky-dive to Sheria in the Reshlin Forest. She directly arrived where the impact formed a mini crater.

Xenon is weakened gravely. Luciella instinctively took the chance by driving his head deeper into the floor. The umbral light Luciella had gradually absorbed Xenon's corrupted mist.

Laken and Alice arrived at the scene where Luciella was gradually calming the Voiceless Revenant.

“I shall free you from your own sound, Voiceless Revenant,” Luciella speaks to Xenon and Laken recognized it was the same when she saved Eirisse from losing her ego.

Her desire to free the suffering of the cursed ones that the world forgot and ignored was so strong the shard itself is granting her prayer.

Laken stood with his hand on his chest. He believed leaning onto Luciella was something he should have done honestly from the start.

With the hope at their side, Luciella entered Xenon's consciousness to purify the darkness deep inside him.